Cup of Tea and a Kiss
by Andrea Weiling
Summary: Sirius/Remus, if you haven't guessed. This fic came right out of my mind and onto paper. 1 Chapter for each year is how it SHOULD go, but my mind plays tricks on me. PG just to be safe.
1. The Cup of Tea

Ch.1: Awakening  
  
When I woke up, there was someone licking me.  
  
Or, rather, someTHING. That something took the shape of a large, black shaggy dog  
that had his dirty paws on the edge of the clean sofa and his tail (dripping puddles)   
thumping the coffee table rather enthusiastically. The first thing that came to my mind was  
to clean it up, but first I had to get rid of the dog. But before everything, I had to   
greet the Animagus that was my good friend of the very best kind. I didn't hide the   
surprise nor the excitement I got from seeing the animal, and almost shrieked with delight  
when he turned back into a man, smiling and laughing at me.  
  
"Sirius!" I got up to hug him but he stopped me with a hand. From his pocket he  
drew a spotted handkerchief and gingerly dabbed away at the dog saliva on my face. I hadn't  
needed this reminder, and I had hoped to smother him with his own spit. Mentally I sighed;  
Ambush #1 down the drain. But there would be other chances to get him back, I mused. No  
time for that, though; this was Sirius, and the fact that he was here was only for a good   
reason. As he started to wipe near my left eye, I took the handkerchief from him and  
dropped it on the table. I hit away his hand when he bent to pick it up again and tilted  
his head up to face mine. It was the most contact I had done since that hug in the  
Shrieking Shack more than a year ago.  
  
"Did Dumbledore send you?"  
  
Sirius didn't reply for a moment, but I could see disappointment in his eyes. Was it  
what I said? Was he expecting other than business to come out of my mouth these days? I   
had never been wealthy, he knew, and I took the job as my life. Did he really expect me to   
sit him down and give him a cup of tea and ask him how his family was doing? Though I would  
probably be doing just that in a little while, talking about Harry.  
  
He nodded, and I sat him down. I went back and brought out a cup of coffee. , I thought, but there was nothing else for me to do at the moment. There  
was nothing to talk about between us. That was all over, behind us. But Sirius didn't let  
the lack of conversation get him. There could never be too much silence in the room for him  
to break back then when we were young and free and unhindered by people's deaths as weight-  
less burdens on our backs. The years in Azakaban had twisted him. I could see it in his   
dark eyes, something had changed. It wasn't the look of dead-ness that Harry had once told   
me about after we saw Sirius in the Shrieking Shack; rather, the look was one of repressed   
emotions, the inability to speak out what he wanted to say because there was no one to speak  
out to. Sirius couldn't very well talk to the walls that surrounded him; that would be   
completely going mad. That wasn't like Sirius to go completely raving mad and swoon and   
fall down dead one day. Sirius was planning to go with a bang, not a whisper.  
  
"Did you hear about the Goblet of -", he started.  
  
"-Fire, yes. And the whole incident about the Triwizard Tournament", I answered  
primly. That clipped his mouth shut for a moment before a scowl crossed his face and he   
muttered a dark curse to the annoying reporter who had written all those articles about   
Harry during the Tournament -what was her name again? Reda Squeeter? Something like that.  
The amusement must have showed on my face, because Sirius was looking at me when I noticed  
him again. "What?", I asked with a smiled playing on my lips. "Can't I hate that Rita   
Skeeter character as well?"  
  
That brought a grin to Sirius' face. , I told myself, and  
reveled in the fact that I had made him smile. His face looked like it had gone too long   
without happiness.  
  
He deserved every minute of it. He deserved all the happiness in the world, for   
everything I could name that made my years bearable.  
  
"That lady has too much time on her hands", Sirius was saying. "I wonder where she   
is now, since she's not haranguing any people anymore. I checked the Daily Prophet before I  
came here, and I didn't find anything from her. 'N fact, didn't find anything from her for  
the last month or so." I smiled, and gave him a fluently wicked response, "She probably  
got sued and is now hiding." I shrugged. "Doesn't make a difference to me; she was a prat  
in school, if you remember. I'm rather glad we don't have to hear from her scalding tongue  
anymore."  
  
Sirius sniggered quietly for a minute, but then silence fell over us again. This   
time it was relaxed, not as tense as the first bout of silence, but I could feel that he was  
still uncertain, still afraid of what I might say to him now. I don't think I was anymore  
surprised when he looked over at me and just stared. It was that stare that caught me off  
guard, and it told me so much. I missed you, but I'm afraid to tell you that, I could   
tell.   
  
"Are you all right?", he said finally, at length. I nodded, and turned my attention  
to the coffee mug in front of me. Seeing my indifference on his return must have irked him  
more than I had imagined, because he got up from where he was sitting to cross the room and  
throw a hand in front of me to block my way.  
  
"What's changed, eh, Moony? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?", he stressed the words, and I   
leaned back. Oh, I had known Padfoot to be mad, more angry than anything I had seen, but to  
have this anger aimed at me; it stung because I had never been the receiptant of his anger   
before, only watched from a distance. Unvoluntarily I winced and turned away, and it was   
not because he had not brushed it teeth in a week.  
  
"Has time done this much damage?", he asked in a softer tone, almost pleading for me  
to look at him. When I didn't turn he gripped my chin in still-strong fingers and tilted   
my head to look at him. "Look at me, Moony." I stared earnestly at him, and lost myself in  
his dark, I-have-no-idea-what-color-THAT-is eyes. Too dark to be brown, to light to be   
black. Just somewhat in the middle. But I wasn't here to admire his eyes.   
  
"Have we come here just to remince on old times, Padfoot? I hardly think so", I   
said soberly. "Don't you have some purpose here? Shouldn't we be rallying forces to the   
storm that will most definately come to pass? We should be out and recruiting members, not  
sitting here and drinking coffee-"  
  
"Don't you tell me what we should be doing, Moony! Do you think I haven't taken   
into consideration how much time we have as opposed to how much time we have to chat over a  
cup of coffee? I hardly think THAT compares, Moony. We still have time, and I intend to   
make use of the time I have with you to talk and", here he gulped, and his words slowed to a  
whisper, "make up for lost time."  
  
At this, I had to laugh. I gave a short bark or two, and answered mirthlessly, "You  
think that you can make up for time?" I didn't glare at him, but I did fix him with my   
best scrutiny. "Padfoot, there is no such thing as 'making up time'."  
  
He released the hold on my shoulder (when did his hand get there?), and sat back   
down. He mumbled soft apology after soft apology, mindlessly, until I laid a hand on his   
shoulder. He turned to me, and I could see that his eyes were bright. This was not the   
Sirius I knew; he wasn't bold anymore, not the reckless motorcycle-rider that tried so hard  
to do everything at once, and please everyone in the process. Sirius had been a man of   
hardship and work, but now he was...worthless, at least he felt. He certainly looked that   
way. But Sirius had been one of the cleverest wizards at Hogwarts; that couldn't stray out  
of consideration.  
  
As my hand slipped from his shoulder, he caught it in his own, and drew me near to   
him. Suddenly a welling of emotion flooded through me at him and the close proximity of our  
bodies, and I laid my head on his shoulder. , I sighed in my mind, even though he   
couldn't hear me. And as if he heard my   
thought, he turned his head towards me, and with his other hand tilted my head up like he   
did once before. Then he leaned down and just kissed me.  
  
/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \   
  
Author's note:  
  
Eek! Plot bunnies won't leave me alone. So this is what came out of it. The next  
chapter will all be reminiscing about school years. That's just about the whole point of   
the fic, reminiscing. Great. On with the story, now. There'll be a chapter for each year  
(I hope).  
  
Andrea Weiling 


	2. Table Manners

Chapter 2: Table Manners  
  
He laughed, and took note of the boy in the corner. Then Peter drew his attention  
away from the figure in the corner of the train compartment, and he thought no more of him   
until James and Peter fell asleep to the movement of the train.   
  
He had time to look now, at the boy still sitting solemnly at the edge of the seat,  
farthest away as he could from him. He wondered why, and then he froze. The boy was   
looking at him. The gaze caught and held, and almost as if the amber eyes were controling   
him, he lifted (shoved) Peter's lolling head from his shoulder and set it down none-too-  
carefully and made his way to the boy. Now that he was closer, he could see more clearly  
just who he was. His trunk above him read "Lupin, Remus", and he didn't deny that it   
sounded a little more formal than "Black, Sirius". He didn't like that name, but it seemed  
to describe him very well. He had black hair and smokey, shifting eyes that seemed to un-  
nerve everyone except for people he knew well. But this boy was different. He could look  
straight at Sirius, and he wouldn't flinch. He wondered why.  
  
"Are you Sirius Black?", the boy asked simply. He could only nod; those eyes were  
captivating. Perhaps it was just him, but did he detect a sense of WRONGNESS from them?  
  
And then he stepped back a pace, for it was like a bright light had shone down from  
heaven itself. The boy gave a smile, shy and soft, but it warmed Sirius right down to his  
toes. It was like he could just feed on that smile, take strength from it, and sustain him-  
self for many days with just the memory on his mind and the sunlight on his lips, just like  
that boy.  
  
Sirius couldn't explain it. There was something MAGICAL about Remus, just from the  
first time they met. Remus captivated him, held his gaze longer than anyone had, and   
possessed the ability to quietly attract Sirius' gaze to him, even when Sirius wasn't think-  
ing about anything remotely pertaining to Remus. But from the very beginning, Sirius was  
hooked.   
  
Sirius observed (however discreetly, though Remus later told him that he could   
*feel* Sirius' eyes boring into his back) that Remus did not smile much. After asking if he  
was Sirius Black on the train, Remus had said nothing else to him. Was it disappointment  
that Sirius felt? He wasn't sure, but he watched Remus out of the corner of his eye for the   
remainder of the train ride. Sometimes Remus caught his eye, and he would turn and meet it.  
If he was laughing at the moment, he would stop, and his eyes would become thoughtful, as  
if only Remus could provoke that expression from him. James and Peter wondered just WHAT  
had happened between the sober amber-eyed stranger and their friend, but they didn't   
question Sirius when he just said he was "a friend".  
  
, James thought. But Sirius didn't hear his mental question, so it remained unanswered until  
they reached Hogwarts.  
  
When they stepped out of the train station and into the boats, Sirius explanation-  
lessly took the stranger's hand and led him onto the same boat they were taking. In the dim  
light over the waters, they saw their first glimpse of Hogwarts.  
  
The sky was darkening rapidly but they saw the outline - a castle, rising above the   
plains and a mountain like its elevation-high neighbors. Waters surrounded it, mountains  
walled it, spells were placed on it. It was protected, sanctuaried, reveled that such a   
stronghold still stood against the Darkness and all that scurried in the world on light   
shadowy feet. It seemed like the scene had popped out of a storybook, and they were only a  
small part to play, but however insignificant, they still made the difference...  
  
James saw Sirius was not looking at Hogwarts, the boat, the lake, nor anything in it  
. He was staring avidly at the new stranger, and when James looked at him, he knew why   
Sirius had hailed him "a friend".  
  
Though Sirius had not told him, James could feel those same discomforting WRONGNESS  
that seemed to surround the stranger. "Remus" was his name, as later James found out, but  
for now he just looked at Remus' face, and knew why Sirius had trusted him so implicitly on  
the first glance, despite those feelings he got when he looked at the stranger.  
  
Remus' face was uplifted, the eyes riveted in the direction of the castle. His eyes  
shone delightedly, with hidden triumph for something that James knew naught of until a few  
years later. The expression on his face was joyous, wondering, disbelieving that such a   
place existed, and that HE, Remus Lupin, was going to live in it. He was going to the best  
school for magic in the whole of Britain. He was going to Hogwarts, the singlemost safe  
place for anyone while Dumbledore was there.  
  
The boats floated on to the castle.  
  
The Sorting Hat Ceremony passed without incident. Dumbledore announced that Mr.  
Filch's list of nuisances (such as Dung Bombs) had now reached up in the fifties (nothing  
compared to the numbers during Harry's time; no doubt some of the later inventions were   
invented because of the Four Marauders), and that there were places off bounds to students   
(at this, James, Peter and Sirius began whispering furiously among each other) and that he  
hoped this would be another good year without to much difficulty in lieu of the  
circumstances outside of school. The Daily Prophet was now a Bible to those who had parents  
in the Ministry of Magic, for they had an obituaries column every week or so.  
  
"Tuck in", Dumbledore's eyes twinkled when they alighted on the Gryffindor table and  
the madly whispering trio. But a loud sob caught his ear from the very end of the table,   
and he turned to look.  
  
At the very end of the table, Remus had pushed the plate away from him and was now  
earnestly crying into his arms. His loud exclaimations brought him to the other   
Gryffindors' attentions.   
  
A boy leaned in, lanky with red hair sticking up everywhere. "Now, first year", he  
said, "where are your table manners? You aren't supposed to cry on the first day! You   
have to wait to be teased to do that." Beside him, a girl slapped the back of his head and  
hurried over to the other side of the table where Remus was. "Dolt", she whispered under  
her breath at him, and placed a hand on Remus' shoulder.  
  
"Why are you crying?", said the kindly girl; her name was Molly, and she always took  
care of the littler Gryffindors each year. They looked at her like she was the older   
sister, or even the mother of the Gryffindors. "Is there something wrong with the food that  
you don't like?" Sirius was behind Remus as well. Sometime during James and Peter's   
coversation he had gotten up and positioned himself firmly behind Remus. Now, he stroked  
Remus' shoulder with light fingers and just made sure Remus knew he was there.  
  
The amber-eyed boy threw him a grateful smile and turned to Molly. "It's not the   
food; it's just I haven't had this rich of a feast before, ever, in my life. I just wish...  
I just wish that..." And he sniffed again and rubbed his eyes.  
  
"You wish what, darling?", said Molly kindly.  
  
"I just wish my mother and father were here to share it. I know they're not very   
nice to me sometimes and they yell at me when I haven't done anything wrong, but they   
deserve this, and I wish they were here to share it with me." Molly swooped him into an   
embrace, and Remus clung to her.   
  
"Good, fair child", said Molly soothingly. "How thoughtful of you. You love your   
parents a lot, don't you?"  
  
Remus smiled. "They're the only ones in the world that I trust with my life   
completely."  
  
, murmured Sirius in his mind. And he joined Molly in the hug, holding Remus  
between them.  
  
/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \   
  
Author's note:  
  
Well, another chapter done. Hope I didn't get Remus out of character or such. I  
think he sounded a bit...strange. Strong and weak at the same time. But that's what he is,  
isn't he? He has to be.  
  
Andrea Weiling 


	3. A Package for Remus

Ch.3: A Package for Remus  
  
There was a feeling that was almost desperation that people noted when Remus Lupin   
walked past. They saw, even when he was only eleven and in his first year at Hogwarts, the   
gray hairs that streaked his auburn hair. The hair was another cause of speculation within   
the Gryffindor house; no one had gray hair before, much less at this young of an age. The   
only person who had any full, accountable amount of gray hair was the Headmaster, and he was  
old, older than most people could count.  
  
But when Remus Lupin walked past, whispers followed. Though some were about his   
hair, his small, lithe stature, those were not the bulk of the rumors. Some said he was a   
sorcerer who could conjure animals out of nowhere, for in the class Care for Magical   
Creatures, he always had a quiet ability to almost talk to, and most certainly understand,   
the animals that students were taught about. Some said that he was a genius in disguise,   
some reincarnated form of a brilliant Muggle scientist, unnamed, but still brilliant. He   
was smart, brilliantly so, so much that it was said Professor McGonagall had no more   
curriculum to teach him in Transfiguration. His specialty in that class was transforming   
anything inanimate into an animal. But surely, more people might have noticed his affinity   
for animals sooner than he did?  
  
He tried his best to quiet the whispers that followed Remus, but whatever he seemed   
to do, the ripples in the pool just got bigger and bigger, until Dumbledore himself had to   
discourage them. He almost gave up when Remus' monthly disappearances became noted and   
people began to wander around, looking for the supposedly secretly hidden passage that   
concealed Remus Lupin when he performed secret dark spells that insured good grades and   
increased brain waves and intelligence. But he couldn't stop these. There was just too   
much speculation already.  
  
James clapped a hand to his shoulder the other day. "Give up", he saidto him.   
"Remus can protect himself, Sirius."  
  
But he couldn't stop hanging around that smart (brilliantly so) ) boy that, on the   
other hand, didn't seem to grudge his appearance every 3 steps. Sirius didn't want to   
admit to himself, nor to anyone else, that he had an uncanny attachment to Remus, even   
though they had only met on the train a few weeks earlier. Sirius never really took to   
anyone immediately like he had taken to Remus; people wondered what Remus had done to   
appear so highly on Sirius' tab.  
  
Sirius simply could not stay away from that (brilliant) boy that, on the other hand,  
didn't seem to grudge his appearance every 3 steps. Sirius didn't want to admit to   
himself, nor to anyone else, that he had an uncanny attachment to Remus, even though they   
had only met on the train a few weeks earlier. Sirius never really took to anyone   
immediately like he had taken to Remus; people wondered what Remus had done to appear so   
highly on Sirius' tab.  
  
Sirius, on the other hand, was not exactly the opposite of Remus, but he was   
certainly different. He had the knack for getting in trouble (as opposed to Remus' perfect   
record and knack for blending in with the rest of the population) and at the same time,   
getting caught. Already he, James and Peter had already been caught off-grounds three   
times, and all three times they were found deep (and hopelessly lost) in the Forbidden   
Forest. But Sirius "assured" everyone (who didn't believe him firsthand) that he was not   
looking for Remus' hideout for some devilry or another, and enforced that rule with as much   
discouraging of the "many rumors of Remus" as he had begun to call them. Remus'   
disappearances did not go unnoted by him, nor any other Gryffindor, as they tried to crack   
the case and get to the middle of the secret that was Remus Lupin.  
  
Remus did not talk to him, nor to anyone else. He seemed oblivious to the rest of   
the world when there was work to do. The library was his sanctuary, to be sure, and no one   
could approach him while he was there. He had a peculiar way of sending people scuttling   
away when he didn't want to be disturbed: he would just stare at them, and they would   
distinctly get the impression that he did not want company at the moment. But Sirius was   
the exception; he could stay as long as he wanted to near Remus and Remus never did   
anything.  
  
James didn't exactly resent this sudden attraction Sirius had for Remus. Instead,   
he looked at it as a chance for Remus' social life. Remus didn't seem to have any friends   
other than Sirius, and occasionally, him and Peter. But mostly they stayed apart, except   
for Sirius, who acted as an in between friend. James did, though, miss Sirius' hanging   
around, but it seemed to help Remus, so he let the matter be.  
  
Peter, in all words, had no opinion of this. He knew that Sirius was acting   
strange, hanging around that boy Remus, who was smarter than most but just tried to hide it,  
but he didn't resent Sirius or Remus. Instead, he was glad for the attention James paid to  
him instead.  
  
Remus and Sirius had their secret agenda that was all in their head and not written   
down. It included a few hours after dinner that was spent in the library. If James had   
asked, Sirius would have answered that Remus did not talk during these "sessions", as James   
had begun to call them, but worked alone and apart, even though they were sitting at the   
same table. He wouldn't say anything, usually, unless Sirius asked him something, and even   
then it was usually only a one-or-few worded answer, curt and to the point. Sirius never   
asked anything of Remus unless he had to, not because he didn't want to bother Remus, but   
because Remus didn't like to answer questions.  
  
Sirius tried to be equal. He tried to spend equal time with James and Peter and   
Remus, but it didn't quite work. James knew this, and tried to make the time with Peter   
seem interesting enough so that Sirius wouldn't feel too guilty about spending time with   
Remus instead. Remus didn't seem to have anyone other than Sirius and his parents. James  
knew that his parents, at the very least, cared for their child.  
  
The packages came almost weekly by an old but strong-looking owl who fluttered and  
hovered over Remus even after all the other owls were gone. Remus never opened the packages  
in front of the other students, even when they asked. He would answer, "A book", or ,"Some  
clothes", and continue eating his breakfast. James could see that this answer worried   
Sirius, who knew mostly likely Remus was lying, because more often the packages did not   
look like books or clothes or anything else James had seen. Several times there was no  
package; rather, there were envelopes that looked as if they had been stuffed with   
everything that could be fit in that limited amount of space. He didn't wonder as much as  
Sirius did about this, partly because Remus had not paid any attention to him, nor did he  
harbor a feeling close to *fascination* like Sirius did of Remus. But he did worry; nothing  
good ever seem to come in those packages. He had seen Remus after he had gone into the  
room they shared as first years, and open the packages in secrecy. He never saw what was   
inside, but it never seemed to bear good news; Remus was always frowning or looked neutral  
when he came back out. This only seemed to provoke Sirius' interest even more, but James  
could not be sure this was a good thing. Remus was a private, conservative type, and he  
could not imagine Remus pouring his heart to Sirius or himself or Peter anytime soon.  
  
Gradually the whispers in the school about the old child died down, and Remus became  
a very familiar sight in the library. People ignored him, and he didn't grudge the   
inattention one bit.  
  
Softly the three were padding down the corridor, looking left and right for Filch  
and Ms. Norris, but they didn't seem to be out tonight. Nevertheless, they were quiet, and  
on the alert all the time. It was Sirius, who had the keenest ears, that first heard the  
talking from one of the classrooms. James thought for a moment. If his memory had served  
him correctly, that was the classroom of Claudius Lornium, the former Advanced Study  
teacher. There were no advanced classes anymore at Hogwarts; the year after Lornium had   
been taken by the Ministry, the advanced system ended, and all people were set back down in  
the same classes.  
  
The second voice that answered the first was soft, smoothly restrained, but very  
subservient-sounding to James. In fact, even from that distance, it sounded like Remus.  
  
James remembered something that Sirius had told him a few nights ago. As they were  
best friends, James had realized that something was pricking at Sirius' conscience. If   
James had been a little more observant, he would have realized that Remus' monthly package  
had not arrived by owl, and was now very overdue. But Sirius did notice, and when James  
asked just what was irking him, Sirius answered plainly, "Remus".  
  
"Just what about him?", James had asked. He hadn't seem much of a change in Remus'  
rather brooding behavior in the last few days. He wondered just what Sirius was getting  
riled about. But when Sirius was plainly serious, he leaned forward and asked more  
conspiratorily, "Is it because Remus sneaks out every now and then?"  
  
Sirius' head had snapped up quickly, and he answered far too quickly, "Yes". Then   
he looked down again and repeated, "yes. He hasn't gone out. I think it has something to   
do with those packages he gets by owl. He gets one every month or sometimes week or so, but  
nothing has come for him for over three weeks now." He looked up wearily at James. "But  
he snuck out tonight, as you can see."  
  
Even from the little slit of moonlight from the window, James could see Remus' bed   
was empty. He nodded, and frowned. "But no package has come for him by owl, correct? So  
you're wondering if your theory was wrong, and that his nightly disappearances aren't based  
on packages."  
  
Sirius gave a wry smile. "You know me too well, James." On the other side of the  
room, Peter gave a snort and turned over. James tiptoed over to Sirius' bed, clapped him  
lightly on the shoulder, and returned to bed. After a minute, he heard the rustle of   
blankets and knew that Sirius had also gone to sleep. Thinking no more of what Sirius had  
said, he had dropped off into sleep.  
  
Huddled under the invisibility cloak, they leaned against the door and listened.   
James felt Sirius bristle with anger when he identified the first voice immediately as being  
the voice of Lucius Malfoy.  
  
James could remember the rather unfortunate encounter Sirius had with Lucius just  
the day after they had arrived at Hogwarts. It was the first day in classes, and it seemed  
Lucius was threatening Remus with something awful in the Potions class the Gryffindors and  
the Slytherins shared. Sirius had gone up, much to the amusement (and shock) of some of the  
other Gryffindors and demanded that Lucius should pick on someone his own size. Of course,  
that would have been Sirius; Remus could hardly be considered the same height as either   
Sirius or Lucius. In fact, Remus was a full half a head shorter than most of the other   
first years in the school. Being said an insult to Lucius (comparing Lucius' height with   
Remus' height), Lucius had demanded that Sirius duel like a wizard gentleman with a wand   
instead of with fists. But Sirius was already halfway across the classroom, where none of  
the Slytherins could reach them in a crowd of Gryffindors. James never knew what became of  
that wizard's duel. Had Sirius invited Remus to be his second?  
  
He could almost hear Sirius' thoughts: "How dare that scum threaten someone!" And  
when James found his ears had not deceived him and the second voice was INDEED Remus, Sirius  
began to stand up. James and Peter quickly pulled him back down.  
  
"What do you think you're doing?", Peter whispered fiercely from one side of Sirius.  
  
"Do you want to get us all caught?", James hissed furiously at Sirius. "We need a   
plan for this, Sirius. We all know you love Remus, so can you just calm down about Lucius?"  
When Sirius attempted to get up again and Peter and James pulled him down, Sirius shot James  
a heated look and said coldly, "Would you go after me if I was getting beaten up?" And   
before James could react, Sirius had gotten up and opened the door.  
  
, James groaned inwardly.   
  
It seemed, when James and Peter finally had the courage to look inside, that all   
thoughts of wizardry had flown out of the window when Sirius entered the room, for Remus was  
in one corner, shirt torn and clad in only underwear, leaning over Sirius concernedly.   
Adorning the room were 3 unconscious boys, "unconscious" via Sirius, who seemed very dazed  
and out-of-whack. As the two newly-arrived passed the last line of desks towards Sirius,   
James chanced a look at Lucius. The rich Slytherin was currently sporting a new yellow-  
greenish looking bruise on one side of his jaw. James winced at the sight and moved on.  
  
Remus had already taken his wand out and healed Sirius' cut on the side of one   
cheek. Sirius deliriously muttered several phrases that sounded vaguely like "McGonagall  
gonna catch us, Sirius" and "take the wand and aim it at the stump, Sirius. Say   
'Abracadabra' nice and loud". Remus paused uncertainly at the last comment, but then took   
his shirt and ripped the rest of it. He waved his wand over it, and James could have sworn  
his lips had not moved in a spell before the cloth was wet and Remus began dabbing Sirius'  
face with it.  
  
James had to admit it was a touching scene. Remus' face was narrowed in fierce  
concentration, and Sirius was taking this coddling-over more patiently than any other time  
James had seen him get healed.  
  
"Remus!", Sirius shouted suddenly. "What happened to you?"  
  
The amber-eyed Gryffindor just slowly met James' eyes, and James could see something  
other than the calm indifference that Remus usually showed in there. Was he pleading?   
Yes, that must be it. He was asking James not to tell. But James didn't know what he was  
asking not to tell. What secret of Remus could he possibly harbor without knowing it?  
  
Then the gaze broke and Remus turned back to Sirius, with his black eyes wide with  
apprehension. Remus began to dab at the taller Gryffindor's face again. "Nothing", he said  
quietly after a moment. "Nothing happened."  
  
/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \   
  
Author's note:  
  
Another boring chapter. I have no idea where this story is going. Just bear with  
these muses, please.   
  
Andrea Weiling 


End file.
